Maryland Family and Youth Interventions for Substance Use (Maryland FYI)
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- All interventions are adaptable for virtual implementation.
- Continuing education credits are available for most events.
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- Bowie State University
- Maryland Coalition of Families
- Morgan State University
- National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Maryland
- National Center for School Mental Health, University of Maryland School of Medicine
All events are free to Maryland providers/families and all interventions are adaptable for virtual Implementation. Continuing education credits are available for most events.
Trauma-Informed Care for Adolescent Substance Use
The Trauma-Informed Care for Adolescent Substance Use (TIC) provider training is a 4-hour professional development course for behavioral health professionals seeking to improve their knowledge and skills related to trauma-informed care for adolescents with substance use. The training provides an overview of best practices in adolescent substance use treatment, including trauma-informed screening and assessment, care planning and treatment considerations. Learners will be engaged in learning through didactics on evidence-based practices, individual and small group reflection activities, and opportunities to apply skills learned to youth and family case vignettes. All participants will be provided with a list of references and resources for further learning to support professionals with implementing the practices discussed in the training.
This training is for all Maryland counselors, social workers, and psychologists. Up to 3.5 Category A/I continuing education credit hours provided for eligible counselors, social workers, and psychologists. Length of training varies.
Register now:
Family-Based Behavioral Treatments for Youth Substance Use - Best Practices
Family-Based Behavioral Treatments for Youth Substance Use – Best Practices (FBBP) is an overview of evidence-based practices for addressing adolescent substance misuse in outpatient clinical settings. In particular, the workshop will focus on family-based interventions that empower parents and other caregivers to take an active role in their young person’s care and address the parenting practices and family dynamics that often contribute to adolescent substance use. Participants will be given tools and clinical techniques targeting adolescents, parents, and the family system as a whole. Ideas for how to sequence and integrate treatment components will be discussed. Examples of techniques to be discussed include youth motivational enhancement, parenting skill development, and family communication exercises. Throughout, the workshop will emphasize how to engage and provide culturally-responsive care to a diverse array of families including marginalized and minoritized youth and families facing multiple stressors.
This training is for all Maryland counselors, social workers, and psychologists. Up to 4 Category A/I continuing education credit hours provided for eligible counselors, social workers, and psychologists. Length of training varies.
Register now:
Tuesday, August 4, 2026 - Open Registration (Virtual) 9:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.
Botvin LifeSkills Training
Botvin LifeSkills Training (LST) is a research-validated substance abuse prevention program proven to reduce the risks of alcohol, tobacco, drug abuse, and violence by targeting the major social and psychological factors that influence the initiation of substance use and other risky behaviors. The curriculum provides adolescents with the confidence and skills necessary to handle challenging situations.
Rather than merely teaching information about drugs, the Botvin LifeSkills Training program consists of three major components that cover the critical domains found to promote drug use. Research has shown that students who develop skills in these three domains are far less likely to engage in a wide range of high-risk behaviors.
The three components of Botvin LifeSkills Training are:
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- Drug resistance skills
- Personal self-management skills
- General social skills
Classroom teachers, health educators, counselors and nurses can teach Botvin LifeSkills Training. Curriculum can be taught in a classroom or small group setting, and is adaptable for distance learning.
Participants will receive one (1) leader manual and one (1) student workbook for the level of their choosing (elementary, middle, or high school).
This training is for all Maryland teachers, health educators, nurses, counselors, social workers, and psychologists. Up to 5 Category A/I continuing education credit hours provided for eligible counselors, social workers, and psychologists. Length of training varies.
Register now:
Thursday, July 23, 2026 -- Open Registration (Virtual) 9:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.
Screening, Brief Intervention, & Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) in Schools
Screening, Brief Intervention and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) in Schools is a self-paced, online training. It is an evidence-based practice used to identify, reduce, and prevent problematic use, abuse, and dependence on alcohol and illicit drugs. SBIRT in Schools was developed for school-based providers (counselors, nurses, social workers, psychologists, and expanded school mental health clinicians) and trainees to learn the SBIRT approach and develop skills related to SBIRT implementation in schools. This course teaches skills related to effective screening, motivational interviewing, brief intervention, and referral to treatment and introduces SBIRT as a public health approach to substance use prevention.
SBIRT in Schools is a four-hour course consisting of 5 modules and an optional SBIRT with Adolescents
Simulation:
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- Why SBIRT?
- SBIRT Training with Video Demonstrations
- Motivational Interviewing: What School Based Providers Need to Know
- SBIRT Implementation in School-Based Wellness Centers
- Youth Use of Electronic Smoking Devices and other Tobacco Products
This training is for all school-based Maryland nurses, counselors, social workers, and psychologists. Up to 4 continuing education credit hours provided for eligible counselors, social workers, and psychologists.
Click HERE to access the training.
Screening, Brief Intervention, & Referral to Treatment (SBIRT)
Screening, Brief Intervention & Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) with Adolescents is a live training in which participants learn about SBIRT as a public health approach to supporting adolescents. Using SBIRT as a systems-change initiative, providers learn how to screen for substance use, reinforce healthy lifestyle choices, utilize the steps of the brief intervention, and facilitate referrals to appropriate treatment. SBIRT is evidence-based, brief, highly accepted among providers, and benefits individuals at all levels of substance use (including abstinence). SBIRT with Adolescents teaches participants how to apply SBIRT in various general adolescent-serving roles.
SBIRT Consists of Three Major Components:
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- Screening: a provider (nurse, counselor, social worker, psychologist) assesses a student for risky substance use behaviors using standardized screening tools.
- Brief Intervention: the provider engages the student in a short conversation providing feedback and advice related to substance use.
- Referral to Treatment: the provider offers a referral for therapy or additional treatment to individuals in need of additional supports or services.
This training is for all Maryland nurses, counselors, social workers, and psychologists. Up to 5 Category A/I continuing education credit hours provided for eligible counselors, substance use counselors, social workers, and psychologists. Length of training varies.
Register now:
Motivational Enhancement Therapy/ Cognitive Behavioral Therapy 5 (MET/CBT5) Provider Training
Motivational Enhancement Therapy/Cognitive Behavioral Therapy 5 (MET/CBT5) is an evidence-based intervention developed to help behavioral health providers conduct a brief five-session treatment intervention for adolescents engaged in cannabis misuse.
MET/CBT5 combines two sessions of motivational enhancement therapy provided individually and three sessions of cognitive behavioral therapy provided in a group format.
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- MET sessions focus on factors that motivate clients to change.
- CBT sessions help clients learn skills to cope with problems and meet their needs in ways that do not involve turning to marijuana or alcohol.
This training is for all Maryland counselors, social workers, and psychologists. Up to 4 Category A/I continuing education credit hours provided for eligible counselors, social workers, and psychologists. Length of training varies.
Register now:
Thursday, August 6, 2026 -- Open Registration (Virtual) 9:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.
Adolescent Community Reinforcement Approach (A-CRA) Provider Training
Adolescent Community Reinforcement Approach (A-CRA) is an evidence-based behavioral intervention that seeks to reduce environmental factors that promote substance use and build resilience with pro-social behaviors. Clinicians assume a flexible approach to reduce adolescent substance use by choosing from a menu of 19 different A-CRA procedures that address areas such as problem-solving skills, communication skills, and relapse prevention.
Goals of A-CRA:
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- Decrease substance use
- Improve life satisfaction
- Improve positive relations with family and peers
- Increase participation in non-using pro-social activities
Virtual Training Options:
- Introduction to A-CRA (7-8 total hours)
- Provides exposure to A-CRA philosophy and select procedures; manual included
- Intensive A-CRA Training (flexible total hours)
- Provides training in all 19 A-CRA procedures; manual included; completion of the full training is required to pursue A-CRA certification.
This training is for all Maryland counselors, social workers, and psychologists. Up to 11 Category A/I continuing education credit hours provided for eligible counselors, substance use counselors, social workers, and psychologists. Length of training varies.
Register now:
Parent CRAFT Self-Paced Online Course for Parents and Caregivers
Parent CRAFT is a self-paced, online video course that teaches parents, caregivers, and concerned others solution-focused, practical skills and techniques needed to meet the risks of substance use. Highly engaging online video segments include structured suggestions for practicing skills that are not only applicable to families with substance-involved youth but also relevant to anyone raising an adolescent. Focus areas include effective communication, positive reinforcement, natural consequences, strategies to support youth accepting treatment.
The Parent CRAFT course consists of five sections, with each section building on previous skills learned. The video portion of each section is less than one hour. Parents are encouraged to complete the sections over a period of several weeks and practice the skills before moving on to a new section.
Components of Parent CRAFT include:
1. Understanding teen’s triggers for use, maintaining factors, and potential negative long-term consequences.
2. Learning communication skills for discussing concerns about teen’s drug use: use of understanding statements, accepting partial responsibility, and use of specific behavioral examples.
3. Using positive reinforcement to influence and change behavior.
4. Allowing for natural consequences to unfold (stopping enabling and protecting).
5. Suggesting professional help
Parent CRAFT has been shown to be highly effective, with a 71% success rate in getting adolescents and TAY into treatment. Treatment providers are also encouraged to explore the Parent CRAFT course to better assist parents and caregivers in supporting adolescent and TAY abstinence.
Parent CRAFT is now accessible in Spanish! The pages and resources are translated using Google Translate and the video has closed captioning in Spanish!
Free print materials aimed at family engagement can be requested for display by providers/schools and distribution to families. **While supplies last**
This resource is available to all Maryland parents and caregivers for FREE (a $200 value) through Maryland FYI.
Click HERE to enroll in Parent CRAFT.